Shattered Bonds
by Have-Some-Deer-Teeth
Summary: After the mysterious relative returns home, the group has a challenging, unknown adventure in front of them. Dipper feels betrayed after Mabel trusted Stan. One bond has been torn while another has been healed. Will it ever be the same way it was before? (After "Not What He Seems"). Drawing by me.
1. Bittersweet Reunion

**A/N: Alright, so I decided to post the chapter I posted on Tumblr onto here. I will upload chapters both here AND on my Tumblr page (username is same as my username here). Also, this is my very first Gravity Falls fanfiction, and I'm very excited to share it with you.  
**

**Aaaanyway, I don't own Gravity Falls nor any of its characters, blah blah blah, all of those belong to Alex Hirsch and Disney.**

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He couldn't believe it.

Thirty years. Thirty _damn long_ years had he waited for this, for his twin to finally return home.

He didn't know how he had done it, survive decades of saying, "Good morning, Stanley," to thin air. He didn't know how he was able to lie to everyone that Stanley died in a car crash, and he had done it so many times that he started to believe it himself. And when Fiddleford left as well he truly felt alone.

To be honest, Stanford was afraid he might pass away before even getting close to getting Stanley back. And, for sure, he did not expect to accomplish this with his handyman, grand-niece, and grand-nephew by him.

Yet here Stanley was, standing so that he blocked the view of the wrecked portal. His face was devoid of any emotion. Stanford had no words on the tip of his tongue. He was never good with emotions, and could not form a sentence to express what he feels. Instead of words, he used actions: Slowly, he approached his brother the way one would approach a stranger. Stanley copied his twin.

Both stopped two feet away from each other. While both had different emotions whirling in their heads, one feeling was shared, one neither have truly felt for a long time: Happiness.

With glazed eyes, Stanford pulled his brother into a warm hug. Stanley had his arms tightly around Stanford, worried that if held him any more loose he would be pulled back into the portal again. Stanford, on the other hand, hugged his brother very carefully, barely touching his dark coat. He was scared that any tighter would make his brother shatter into shards of glass.

"I missed you so much, Stanley. You have no idea," Stanford managed to finally say.

"Actually, I do…I–" Stanley froze, and Stanford could feel Stanley's hands moving away from his back. "What am I doing?" Stanley asked himself, before roughly pushing his brother away from him. "I should be angry at you! Do you realize what you've done? What could've happened?"

"B-But it didn't happen. The apocalypse didn't take place. Just a few shakes!"

Stanley scoffed. "Even if the apocalypse is not upon the Earth yet, look at all the problems you've caused! The whole town above us is destroyed, innocent people may have died. And let me guess, the FBI is after us again, isn't it?"

Stanford remained silent.

"Why couldn't you listen to me for once, 'Ford? I told you not to open that portal again. You knew the one we casted out could have been brought out again! But you didn't care, did you? You didn't even know the risks! You didn't give a damn about any of the warnings–"

"_Goddamnit, Lee, stop thinking I'm an idiot_!" Stanford snapped.

Stanley shut his mouth.

"I'm not stupid. _Of course_ I read your warnings. I did care, and I sure as hell knew the risks. But I put my family first. I couldn't let that damn floating dorito get what he wanted. You may be the more logical one, the thinker of the Mystery Twins, Stanley, but I'm hell sure you would have thought the same way I did."

Stanley could say nothing to that, except glare at his brother. He hated to admit it, but he was right. While he likes to imagine him to be this selfless man, several times he had risked other people's lives and didn't even blink an eye.

Dipper could still not comprehend that he was not seeing Stan talking to himself, but to his own twin brother. He had just watched the fight between the two, but still, his mind was blank. And he thought he mentioned Bill too. Was there anything else Stan was hiding?!

"Brother…? I….What?" Dipper muttered to himself, but unknowingly, the older twins heard it.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Stanley, these are Dipper and Mabel. Your grandkids. Kids, this is your Grandfather."

.

.

.

"Grandkids?!"

"Grandfather?!"

Both were screeched simultaneously.

"Ooh, that's why we never met our second grandfather!" Mabel smiled. Dipper stared at her. How could she be happy when she almost caused the world to end? "Dipper," she said joyously. "We did it! We saved our Grandpa!" She tightly hugged Dipper, but to her surprise Dipper squirmed and wiggled out of the embrace.

She frowned, tilting her head to the side. "Dipper?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Dipper simply clenched his fists. "Dipper, please tell me." Both Stans were looking, one still surprised by the news, and the other one had his brows furrowed in worry of what might happen.

"You chose him," Dipper whispered so quietly Mabel had to ask what he had said.

Clenching his fists, he growled. "You chose him. You trusted him over me!" He pointed at the conman, the liar, anyone but the man he hoped Stan to be.

"Dipper, I–" She stammered, but Dipper cut her off.

"He lied to us all summer! He had this apocalyptic machine under our feet all this time. The Author himself–Stan's brother," He gestured towards Stanley, who has been watching the argument from his brother's side, "if Stan isn't lying yet again, wrote that this could tear our universe apart! _I_ told you that! Your own twin!"

She reached towards her brother. "Dipper, I saw he was desperate! Grunkle Stan–"

He slipped from her reach. "'Grunkle Stan'? How can you still call him a part of your family when he tricked us like he did the whole world?! How can you–H-How can–I–Agh!"

Dipper was seething, too angry to process his thoughts into words. He closed his eyes shut and tried calm himself down. He was supposed to be the level-headed one, the logical one. Mabel was the one who listened to her heart instead of her brain, which was exactly why she didn't press the button.

He didn't care the world didn't end. He didn't care he finally found the Author. Mabel was basically a part of him and since the Gnome incident felt he could trust her with his life. But when push came to shove, when the time came to test the water….

Mabel listened to Stan.

He should have just listened to the Journal.

He didn't feel he could trust her again. Not the same way he did before.

Mabel took a step back, not knowing how to react to the venom in his voice. She had never heard him so angry, so…Hateful. And it was towards her.

But she felt she did the right thing. After all, Stan would have never gotten his brother back were it not for the portal. She did the right thing…Right?

"Dipper, listen to me," she said desperately. "He would have never been able to bring his brother back home without this thing. I would have done the same thing too! Wouldn't you?"

"NO!" he snapped. "Not if it destroys the Earth! I'd rather…"

He trailed off with his eyes as wide as saucers. Tears were brimming at Mabel's eyes.

Silence filled the air.

Slowly, he realized his mistake, but the damage was already done.

Mabel's voice was eerily quiet, and they all could see her hands trembling. "You'd rather live by yourself and feel safe than save me? Your sister?"

For once, Dipper didn't know what to say. He didn't mean it like that, and yet everybody took it the wrong way. Even himself. He was very angry, fuming, even. But he never meant to make Mabel cry.

"…I'm going to the living room," he muttered, before quickly leaving the wrecked place.

Mabel still stared off to where he left, tears flowing down her cheeks. She thought she felt her heart break when her summer boyfriends left her. But this…This was so much worse.

Suddenly she felt someone's arms around her, enveloping her in a comforting hug. When she sniffed she recognized the sharp smell of Stanford's cologne. She hopelessly hugged him back and grabbed bunches of his coat in her small hands.

"I'm really sorry, sweetie," he finally spoke. "I didn't mean any of this to happen."

He could feel her shaking her head on his shoulder. "S'not your fault." Her voice was muffled by his clothing.

He sighed. "Kinda is. Really is. I should have told you. I would have told you but…"

"But y-you didn't want your chance of getting our G-Grandpa to be ruined," she finished for him.

He chuckled softly. "You a mind reader, Mabel?"

"Nuh-uh. Having a t-twin really helps though." At the subtle mention of her brother the air in the room seemed to thicken.

Before Stanford could stand up, Stanley walked past them and said, "I'll go talk to him."

Stanford looked at him. "Are you sure?"

Stanley nodded. "I'll need to talk to my great-nephew sometime, anyway. Besides, he doesn't seem to want to talk to you two." He paused as he saw the looks on their faces. "No offense," he added quickly.

"Alright. Good luck. We'll be up there soon after we wake him," Stanford replied and pointed at Soos.

Stanley nodded again and turned around to leave. However, before Stanley could take one step, Mabel threw her arms around his legs. "I wish you luck, too, Grandpa," she said softly.

With the name pulling at his heartstrings, he kneeled down to hug her more properly and ruffled her hair. "Thank you, Mabel," he replied and stood up to leave.

As his brother left, Stanford put a hand around Mabel, making her lean her head against his shoulder and let out more tears.

After the tears stopped and there was only a sniffle here and there, Mabel whispered, "Grunkle Stan?"

He was brushing his fingers through her hair soothingly. "Yeah, sweetie?"

"Do you think Dipper meant it when…" She couldn't finish without a sob escaping her mouth.

Stan knew what she was speaking about. "No, he didn't, Honey. He was just angry, caught in the moment, you know."

"…Did I do the right thing?" The words escaped before she realized it. She hadn't meant Stan to hear it.

"Well, Mabel," he asked as he gently put his hand under her chin to make her look at him. "What do _you_ think?"

As she looked into her Grunkle's eyes, she realized she noticed something new. Now, in his dull, brown eyes, was a sparkle. And along with it, his wrinkles seemed to have gotten not as deep. Overall, he looked like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. With these things in mind, she nodded.

Yes, she did do the right thing.

Because she did it for her family.

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**Hope you liked it! Make sure to leave a review!**


	2. Uncertainty

**A/N: Wow, 18 favs and 16 follows?! Thank you! Honestly, I wasn't sure on whether I will continue this, but you guys wanted me to, and I enjoy writing, so I will.**

**Anyway, Gravity Falls belongs to Disney, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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Dipper was in the kitchen. It seemed to be the least ruined place in the Shack. He had his head leaned against his hand as his other one absent-mindedly ruffled the pages of the third Journal. His head was filled with contradicting emotions and thoughts...

_You shouldn't have said that to her..._

_She deserved it after what she did!_

_But she was right..._

_But she was _wrong _at trusting Stan!_

_If Stanley is the Author, does that mean Stanley doesn't trust his brother?_

Dipper pinched the bridge of his nose and opened one eye to look at the Journal. Before today, when it seemed all the world went upside down, the Journal gave him comfort and a feeling of safety in this supernatural town. But now, when his fingers brushed against the yellow, faded pages of the Journal, he felt cold, paranoid, scared.

He slammed the Journal closed and pushed it away. Is that why the Author-Stanley hid all the Journals? No, it was because of "Him," as Stanley wrote in the Journal. But who was He? Dipper shivered as if he felt cold hands brushing past his shoulders, and Dipper looked up. Most of the windows were shattered with broken glass on the ground, but no wind came through them. That is a thing Dipper noticed: Everything seemed silent, even for a small town like Gravity Falls during the evening. There were no owls hooting, no crickets chirping, nothing. It was quiet, still, peaceful. No, not peaceful.

Dead.

With a shiver still going up his spine, Dipper thought He could be Bill. Before he could think about it more, however, another puzzle popped up. His brows furrowed together as he remembered how the Author seemed to have neat pages with diagrams and labels. At the same time, there were wild, crazy notes and writings scribbled on the pages, especially with the invisible ink. Yet the man that came out of the portal seemed tranquil and composed...And sane. It was as if two different people wrote in the Journals.

Dipper brushed a hand through his hair. He felt like he was going insane with all that has happened so quickly. Pacifica's party seemed so far away, like it happened months ago, not a day ago.

With a sigh, Dipper reached inside his pocket and took out a little white card. It was the card Agent Powers gave him the morning of the Scaryoke Party. Dipper knew they were looking for Stanford. But now, they would most likely lock up anyone who was seen with Stan that day, which would mean Mabel and himself, and possibly Soos. He could not let that happen. While he may still be angry at Mabel, he will never be as angry towards Stanford as towards anybody else.

His thoughts drifted back when Mabel, as he discovered Stan had the other two Journals, tried to make an excuse for Stanford's lies, saying how he loved them no matter what. Maybe Mabel is right. Maybe Stan does care about her. But not him. He knew Mabel was his favorite. There was no competition for Mabel anyway. The memory he saw in Stanford's mind seemed like nothing now. Dipper felt so distrustful of Stan he felt what Stan had said to Soos in that memory was just a lie to cover what Stan really thought of Dipper.

And with these thoughts fueling Dipper's irrational emotions, He reached for the phone on the wall, which seemed fine except for a thin crack. Maybe if he told them where the con man they were looking for was they would leave the others and himself alone. He unhooked the phone off the wall. He was about to type the first digit when a voice made him freeze.

"I don't think that's a good idea, kid," Stanley tries to say softly, but his unused, raspy voice made Dipper jolt.

Dipper regained his composure, and muttered, "How would you know?"

"Because," Stanley replied and walked towards Dipper. "I know who you were about to call. And while they pretend to know everything about the supernatural, they only touched the surface." Stanley quickly grabbed the phone from the surprised boy's hands and put it back on the wall.

Dipper, knowing it would be pointless to try and fight against the man, huffed and sat down. Stanley sat across him and strapped his gun on the chair. As he did, Dipper wearily looked at him.

"I don't think we were properly introduced. My name is Stanley Pines." He brought out his hand in front of him for Dipper to shake. Dipper stared at the hand. In his old vision, he imagined _him_ to be the one reaching out towards the Author, and vigorously shaking his hand out of pure excitement and joy.

Stanley, after having his hand out for an awkwardly long time, was about to move his hand away when it was suddenly grasped by a smaller hand.

"I'm Dipper. Your grandson." He gave the hand a little shake before pulling his hand back.

Stanley chuckled. "Yes, I'm still in the process of grasping that." Dipper stared at him with a look Stanley could not pin-point.

"Did you even _know_ you had a son?"

Stanley momentarily had a painful look etched on his face, and Dipper regretted how blunt his question was. He had no reason to talk to Stanley like that...Yet, at least.

Dipper open and closed his mouth several times before managing to say, "Sorry. I'm sor—"

Stanley held up his hand, making Dipper stop mid-sentence. "No," he replied. "It's fine. I—" he let out a forced, dry chuckle. "I knew I had a son. He was seven years old, last time I saw him. Tell me, did he change his name or is it still Roland?"

Dipper blinked at the unrelated question. "Still is. Why would he…?"

"He hated that name. Thought it was an 'old guy name.' I guess that name works well for him now, huh?" Stanley's grin melted like ice-scream. "I wish I could talk to him."

Dipper was about to ask why he could not when he connected the dots himself. The article Mabel found...Stan Pines Dead...Car crash...

"...Everybody thinks you're dead. That you died in a car crash. That's why we've only met one grandfather."

Stanley grinned half-heartedly. "Smart boy. I _did_ expect 'Ford to make something up after I…I..." Stanley sighed and mournfully closed his eyes.

It was silent again. Dipper could not say sorry to him. Saying "sorry" to a man who lost everything would be just useless. For once, his mind went blank.

There was a long silence.

"You can't be angry at them forever, you know," Stanley was the first to speak up.

Dipper looked at him with half-lidded eyes, then looked back down. "Try me."

Stanley's voice was more serious. "Look, kid. I knew my brother like the back of my hand. He was a conman, sure. Stole things here and there, went to jail in Columbia, kinda stole my girlfriend—"

"Look, man, what's your point?" Dipper asked in the middle of his rant.

"The _point_ is...Your great uncle may not be a perfect guy, but he's not a bad guy either."

Dipper looked up.

"You need to understand, Dipper. Stanford sacrificed his whole life for me. He had no kids, no friends, and just worked on that damn machine Fid—I should have never built. And regarding how he lied to you: Would you not take every precaution as carefully as possible to get your twin back? You wouldn't want _anything_ in the way, would you?"

Dipper hadn't looked at it that way. But still…"We wouldn't have 'been in the way' if he told us the truth."

Stanley looked at him with a knowing look. "I don't think so. I think you would have still listened to the Journal rather than your family."

"B-But you were angry at him. It may have not caused the apocalypse but it still wasn't a walk in the park either."

"Yes, of course I was angry. Still am. I can't forgive him for putting the world at risk. It was selfish. But at the same time, I would have never forgave him if he didn't come back for me, either. Because he was right. I would have done the same."

Dipper sighed. "That's the exact thing Mabel had said."

"And what _you_ said back was not as heartwarming," Stanley pointed out as he stood up from the table.

Dipper's face turned hard again. He didn't like where this conversation was going. "I won't call the Government guys. But that doesn't mean I forgive him."

Stanley could see Dipper was trying to change the subject. "I know what you're trying to do. But before I let you off the hook, I gotta tell you something." Stanley kneeled by Dipper to look at him dead in the eyes, which made Dipper squirm a little in his seat. "If you don't want to end up like me (believe me, you don't), then you got to listen less to this," He tapped the boy's head, "and a little more to that," he tapped Dipper's chest, a little to the left, where his heart should be. "Can you promise me that?"

Dipper didn't exactly know what Stanley meant, but he slowly nodded. "I'll—I'll try."

Stanley stood up. "Good enough. Because Stanford and Mabel will be here any second now. Oh, and the one with the hamster teeth."

Dipper looked startled. "Wait, what?" Oh, no, no, no, no. He couldn't talk to any of them right now. He didn't want to talk to them. He tried to escape to the attic but Stanley grabbed the back of his vest with an iron-grip. Dipper did nothing but huff.

As Stanley predicted, the great-niece, great-uncle, and handyman went into what remained of the kitchen.

Mabel looked at Dipper, Stanford looked at his brother, and Dipper avoided everybody's eyes.

Mabel, in an unsure voice, said, "Hi, Dipper…"

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**A/N: Ooh, what'll happen next? Read the next chapter to find out!  
**

**GOLZK CLY KO YCKURE XOLWOJJYP,  
CAJUOPK CLY POJ RUWVJRE XOLWUHYP.**

**Woah, what's this? I can't seem to delete it. Weird...**

**Well, don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!**

**\- H.S.D.R.**


	3. Old Friends

**A/N: Woo, alright, new update! I am terribly sorry for the long wait! The last few months have been very stressful, and I am finally able to sit and continue this story!**

**So,[SPOILERS (i guess) IF YOU HADN'T WATCHED THE PREVIEW FOR "ATOTS"] because of the preview for ATOTS, we know that Stan (Fez) is Stanley and Stan (Author) is Stanford. So, from now on, it will be fixed. I will have to edit the previous two chapters and add some stuff.**

**Blah blah blah, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I don't own Gravity Falls nor its characters. Those belong to Disney.**

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Dipper didn't move his eyes; he didn't even blink. Instead, he defensively crossed his arms across his chest. Mabel sighed. It was no more nor less what she expected, but that did not mean it hurt any less. She was glad for the arm Stan put around her for comfort, but he was not looking at her.

While Dipper may have his eyes covered under his hat, Stanley was not moving his eyes from him. Mabel was in a tough situation as she had to chose between two loved ones, and it was his fault in the first place. He regretted the way everything turned out, not the way he wanted, but the way fate wanted. His teeth clenched as he saw Dipper blow out the hope in Mabel's eyes. Dipper certainly did _not_ need to rub more salt in the fresh wound right now.

Stan opened his mouth to say something to the boy, with several sentences forming in his head. But he closed it. If Mabel couldn't reach out to Dipper, then there is no chance Stan could right now. But he will have an important talk with Dipper when there would be time. _If_ there would be time. As he sadly looked at Mabel, Stanley asked in the silence,"So what do we do now?"

Stanford replied with another question. "How long do you think we have before the Agents come back?"

"Not a lot. An hour, if we're lucky."

"What about the townspeople?" Mabel asked. "There's no way they didn't notice that their town was destroyed."

Stanley waved a hand. "The townspeople are stupid. They'll freak out today, and it'll all be forgotten tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Stanford arched an eyebrow. "How in the world will they be able to forget this?"

Stanley sighed. "Do you remember…" He stopped without thinking as he realized Mabel and Dipper could hear him. He had to try to keep them safe, he thought. And then he realized...

No.

There's no way to protect them now. They're as deep down in this dark side of the town as he was. And, after all they went through because of him, he owed them at least a little bit of truth. Gathering up confidence, he continued, "Do you remember Fiddleford's memory erasing gun?"

Stanford looked at him. "You must be joking."

"Nope. He decided to give it to a bunch of lunatics before he-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but that's not _really_ true anymore, regarding the town," Mabel said as she twiddled her thumbs. Everyone looked at her. Dipper glared at her. _If she's going to tell them, I swear-_

"Mabel," Stanley said slowly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see, we-" she sighed. "We kinda...Met them."

Stan had a looks of surprise on his face, before sighing through his nose. "And?" he asked as calmly as he could.

"And...We erased their minds of anything related to their secret group after they tried to take our summer memories away?" Near the end the statement turned into an unsure squeak as she chuckled nervously.

Stanley's reaction was instant.

"What?!" Stanley yelled in anger. "I _told you_ not to run into trouble like that!" He sent a glare at Dipper. "What the hell were you thinking? You're so into your little mysteries that you can't sense trouble a foot away, can you?"

"Oh yeah?" Dipper hissed. "Well, at least I don't lie to my own family all the time!"

"I was trying to protect you and you know it!"

"Then why did you send me to the woods a few days after we settled in, huh? You really thought I wouldn't discover anything, _Stanley_?"

All anger disappeared from Stan's face. He never thought hearing his own name would make his heart shatter.

Trying to get the dominant hand and ignore the lump in his throat, Stan growled, "Well, _Milton_, I do not pull others into danger with me!"

It was Dipper's turn to be shocked. He clenched his fists."You know I hate my first name! And how can you pin this on me?!"

Mabel pleaded, "Guys, please, stop fighting-"

_Knock, knock, knock._

Everything fell silent. Slowly, everyone turned their heads towards the front door.

"Mr. Pines," Soos, who had been uncharacteristically silent throughout the last hour, whispered. "What do we do?"

Stanley put his index finger to his mouth and silently told them to keep quiet. Trying to stop the wooden floor from grunting, he walked carefully to a cabinet which was now broken without one cabinet door. Out of it, he pulled out two guns. Both seemed alike with the exception of one having a longer handle. Stanley gave that one to his six-fingered brother.

_Knock, knock, knock._

The original Mystery Twins looked at each other as if they were having a discussion. Both nodded, and tiptoed towards the door with Dipper and Mabel behind Soos.

Stanford stood against the wall by the door as Stanley put his hand on the knob. Receiving a nod from Stanford, Stanley aimed his gun and opened the door.

Mabel covered her ears and shut her eyes as a loud gunshot was heard.

Silence.

Mabel hesitantly opened one eye to see Stanley still looking at something in front of him.

"McGucket, you are so damn lucky you're short."

"Huh?" Mabel asked as she uncovered her ears and ran past Soos and by her Grandpa.

When McGucket saw her, he grinned. "Hey, Mabel! I just wanted t'make sure you folks are al-oof!" He couldn't finish his sentence due to his surprise when she tightly hugged him. It's been a long, long time since he was hugged by anyone, especially a child.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Mr. McGucket!" she said before stepping back. "How are things in the town?"

"Well," he started as his eyes darted towards Stanley's gun, "after I came back to the town, uh...There ain't much o'the town left. Many buildings are destroyed, some not possible to fix. Also, there was a-"

"Fiddleford?"

"Huh?" McGucket looked up at who he thought the voice came from. Stanford seemed saddened as he looked at the proud man he once knew.

"Fid, what happened to you?" Stanford asked as he looked at his torn, brown overalls which barely covered him. What happened that brought him down like this? Had something happened when he was gone?

McGucket looked puzzled, with his brows crunching up together. "Do I…"

"Last time I checked, you were an amazing scientist. You had a wife, a child. I mean, I understand that was a long time ago, but...What caused you to even stop taking care of yourself?"

"...Do I know you?" McGucket asked, not knowing those words made someone's breath hilt.

_He used it_, Stanford realized.

_He used it on himself._

Stanley whispered something to Stanford. When he did not move, Stanley grabbed his brother's wrist and lightly tugged. Stanford, though hesitantly, moved his eyes away from McGucket, before both of them headed to the kitchen. Or at least, what remained of it.

McGucket still looked lost. "Kiddos? Who was that fella?"

To Mabel's surprise, Dipper was the one to answer, though his reply was to the point.

"The Author."

"The Author?" McGucket asked. "D'you mean _the _Author? Of the Journals?" He shook his head mournfully. "Why don't I remember him? Why can't I remember him?" he said as his voice was laced with anger.

"Hey," Mabel said softly as she patted his shoulder. "It's barely been two weeks. You're making great progress! You fixed the laptop, didn't you?"

The last sentence made Dipper's memory jog, before remembering McGucket's warning the night before.

"I'm sorry, McGucket," Dipper said as McGucket looked up from looking at the ground. "I should have listened to you when you tried to warn me." His eyes darkened. "I could have stopped Stanford from-"

**_SLAP!_**

Dipper felt himself falling backwards and his elbows made a loud thud as they hit the ground. His cheek throbbed and was tinted red. Dipper was in shock while Mabel looked at him, glowering. Last time she saw her this angry was when Grunkle-Stanley let Waddles go outside.

"Dipper, I've had enough of this. Don't you dare say that you would have wanted Stan to never get his brother back. I know you're angry, but you have no right to say anything like that. He may have lied to us, and you may not trust him, but _he's still our Grandpa._"

_I have every right to say so after he lied to me,_ Dipper thought. But he did not say this out loud. His mouth was hanging open. He was still shocked. And not just because he was slapped by his sister.

Stanley cleared his throat awkwardly as Stanford dragged himself back with his brother.

Shuffling his bare feet, McGucket said, "I'm sorry I can't remember you. Dipper told me you're the Author."

"He's started to remember though," Mabel added.

"He has?" Stanley asked reluctantly. Was the kid just trying to cheer him up or was it the truth?

Mabel quickly nodded. "So he'll remember you soon enough, don't worry!"

Stanley could not stop the faint smile from forming on his face. Her optimism was already rubbing on him.

"But we still have other things to worry about, dudes," Soos reminded them. "What now?" Soos asked.

"_Now_, you're going home, Soos."

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**A/N: So, how was it?**

**As a gift for not being able to update, I shall reveal what the code from the previous chapter meant:**

**WORDS ARE SO EASILY FORGOTTEN, ACTIONS ARE NOT LIGHTLY FORGIVEN.**

**Please review! I will try to answer any of your questions! Any type of a review, even one with just "Good," will be greatly appreciated!  
**


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